About this project
The Replacement - A Science-Fiction short film
$15,581
167
GIVE IT TO ME STRAIGHT
The Replacement is a dark comedy set in a future where growing your own clones is as common as getting a new outfit. But sometimes your flawless clones make you feel like a loser. Simply put, it's a comedic take on social progress moving faster than anyone is prepared for.
The story comes from my interest in identity, emerging technology, and the conflict between tradition and progress. Our future is probably stranger than we imagine, and even things that might benefit us often appear pretty scary.
SYNOPSIS
Set in a world where multiple clones of a person can share memory and grow skills at an exponential rate. This is due to the Samsara Reflections corporation, whose revolutionary technology is racing human progress forward, while natural born citizens become less relevant in society
One night Abe Stagsen, flips through TV and sees his own clones on every channel, including as the first clone to be elected President. Bitter at being made redundant, he goes on a misguided quest to prove he still matters. However he doesn't count on the dangers of looking just like the most important man in the country...
WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP
Making movies has a pretty hefty price tag, even on a low budget. I'm putting my own money into this project, but we still need help to make it cinematic enough for the festival circuit. Luckily, through the generous fiscal sponsorship of the Midwest Independent Film Festival, all donations to our project are tax deductible.
Our team has a lot of experience stretching low budgets while delivering the look and quality people have come to expect from the theater. My producing reel demonstrates the quality that can be achieved with micro budgets nowadays. This is a compilation of many movies I've produced around our budget level.
OUR PRODUCTION REEL
FISCAL SPONSORSHIP
Our project is fortunate enough to be sponsored by the Midwest Independent Film Festival, a non-profit that is the nation's only year round film festival solely dedicated to the Midwest filmmaker. This means, all donations to our project are TAX DEDUCTIBLE donations that can be written off at the end of the tax year. It also gives us many inroads to the festival circuit upon completion of our campaign.
SO WHERE IS YOUR MONEY GOING?
Any amount pledged will go to both Production (shooting the film) and Post-Production (editing, effects, and music). I'm not making a dime, and many of our crew members are volunteering their time and resources. Despite this, there are many hard numbers that have to be addressed on a film like this.
- Location costs
- Equipment rentals
- Insurance
- Feeding cast and crew
- Props and Costumes
- Visual effects
- Color timing session
- Sound mix
- Scoring the film
All the money we raise will go up on the screen, to producing the highest quality film we can make. If we don't hit our $13,200 target, you don't get charged. You only pay your pledge amount if we reach our goal ... so let's work together to reach it. Did I mention we're tax deductible...
BEYOND OUR GOAL
Our funding goal of $13,200 is the minimum to get the movie made with a professional polish. However, should we exceed our goal, any additional funding will go towards more amazing clone effects, flying cars, bigger and better locations, custom costumes, and compensation for the hard working crew that volunteered their time.
Here's what our Stretch Goals would get us:
- Even better world building with custom sets and props
- Additional visual effects funds
- Additional production design funds (the design of environments)
- All the above
- An extra day of filming for additional scenes to build out the world
- Custom Costumes for our character
- All the Above
- Motion Control Rig to have complex shots moving shots with Clones
- Extra Visual Effects through Hollywood artists
WHO ARE WE?
Sean Miller - DIRECTOR
Sean has always been drawn to stories that create new worlds and challenge audience perspectives. His work on action / adventure shorts has given him a unique approach to filmmaking that allows for ambitious projects to be realized at a fraction of the professional price. He graduated with honors from Columbia College Chicago, and has produced and Assistant Directed over 40 short films, commercials, and music videos. He has worked on brands such as Volkswagen, Budweiser, and Air National Guard. He Line Produced the feature film Cyrus: Mind of a Serial Killer, starring Lance Henriksen (Aliens) and Brian Krause (Charmed) and worked on the blockbusters Wanted and The Dark Knight. His vision will propel The Replacement to success not only behind the camera, but in artistic development, and creative oversight in post-production.
Naz Khan - PRODUCER
Naz is a Creative Producer and an accomplished Design Lead at Fjord, a global design agency. Daughter of a Pakistani film producer, she continues her father's legacy and love for story telling. In the last decade, her focus in film has been two fold: bringing the world of the movie to life and managing the day to day operations. She Production managed the feature film Cyrus: The Mind of a Serial Killer, and worked on over 25 short films, documentaries and web-series in various capacities. The Replacement is a personal project for Naz. Over the past two years, she has worked alongside Sean in developing the concept and refining the script. As a producer, Naz will be ensuring that the world of this sci-fi is authentic and well crafted, while overseeing the production and making sure it is completed on time and within budget.
Mike McNamara - ACTOR
Mike is a professional actor in Chicago, working in theatre, commercials, television and film. Stage credits include TimeLine Theatre's The Front Page, which received a Joseph Jefferson nomination for Best Ensemble and Northlight Theatre’s production of Pride and Prejudice, which garnered five Joseph Jefferson Award nominations, including Best Production. Film and television credits include Chicago Fire, Leverage, Barbershop 2: Back In Business, The Lake Effect, Man in the Silo, Early Edition, and The Quiet and QWERTY, which recently premiered at the Dallas International and Nashville Film Festivals.
Brian Levin - PRODUCER
Brian is a talented producer with a variety of unique experience under his belt. In addition to producing narrative films, he has had a wide range of experience producing creative web content, corporate strategy, and documentaries for brands such as Samsung, Match.com, and Starwood. It's with all of these different experiences that he approaches filmmaking with a keen sense of understanding from the smallest technical detail to the overall big picture. His experience leading a team of content creators at TouchVision has given him the ability to manage the chaos of a film production with ease, ensuring things run smoothly, and always working towards the goal of providing the director with the creative freedom he/she needs to effectively deliver an exciting story to the screen.
Boris Wexler - PRODUCER
Born and raised in Paris, France, Boris Wexler moved to the United States when he was 18. After making several short films that screened at juried festivals around the world and 40 episodes of the web series ‘Pillow Talks’, Boris produced the independent drama Fall Away in 2010, directed by Julian Grant, then went on to direct his debut feature Roundabout American, a comedy about a young French Man who comes to the United States to open a combined pizza and escort delivery service. More recently, Boris produced and directed the independent feature film Chat, a micro-budget thriller entirely shot in Chicago. Fall Away, Roundabout American and Chat have all found nationwide distribution.
HOW KICKSTARTER WORKS
Kickstarter is an all-or-nothing funding platform which means that if we don't reach our funding goal, we do not get the money to fund our project, and all donations go back to the donors. That's why it's so important that you donate to the tier level you can afford.
To thank you, we've put together a list of backer rewards that lets you know how much we appreciate your support. Depending on your pledge amount, there are a variety of rewards to receive for your contribution, as detailed in the sidebar to the right. Check it out to see the cool stuff you get for backing our movie.
SPREADING THE WORD
We understand that not everyone is able to donate, but you might know someone who can. Word of mouth is essential for raising awareness of this project. Please let friends and family know about us!
We'd appreciate if you help spread the word across your own social spectrum on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. Even direct e-mails help.
CAN I VIEW THE PROGRESS OF THE FILM?
Absolutely! Updates will be posted regularly here on Kickstarter (just tap that updates button at the top). We want everyone involved with the project to know what's going on. A bit of casting, maybe some location scouting, crew interviews, production meetings - the options are limitless! The production team for The Replacement is a family, and we invite you to be part of it.
So please feel free to email us with any questions you may have concerning the film. Thanks for stopping by!
Special thanks to Concept art by:
- Jaime Jasso
- Leon Tukker
- Lorenz Hideyoshi Ruwwe
- Abrar Ajmal
- Florent Llamas
Risks and challenges
We love producing great films. That's why we labor over the story longer than most and meticulously plan every detail of the shoot well in advance. We're confident we've assembled the right team to shoot the film, but there are always potential obstacles.
Making movies is a risky business. We're not going to sugar-coat that. Whenever you get a group of people together to work on a film, you're at the mercy of things like bad weather, illness, equipment breakdowns, unexpected expenses and any number of other speed bumps.
However, we're confident that we can deal with whatever the forces of chaos throw at us. Why? Because we've done this before. We're not amateur film students fumbling our way along, we're professional filmmakers with solid CVs, and we know the importance of preparation and organization, so that when problems do arise, we're ready to tackle them with ingenuity and Plans B, C and sometimes D!
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Funding period
- (30 days)